The New England Revolution saved their starters for what Steve Nicol felt was the more important match with Eastern Conference leader Columbus Crew this Saturday, and last night took a consequent 4-0 loss to Joe Public FC to exit the preliminary tournament 6-1 in aggregate goals. Gregory Richardson of Guyana scored three of Joe Public’s goals and assisted the fourth, tallied by Roen Nelson. Post-game, Richardson said he’d like to play in MLS and had already been approached by the Columbus Crew.

To recover from exhaustion and injuries, Nicol sat Taylor Twellman, Michael Parkhurst, Chris Albright, Steve Ralston, Sainey Nyassi, Kenny Mansally, Adam Cristman, Kheli Dube and subbed off Shalrie Joseph in the 68th minute. Khano Smith left the field in the 75th minute due to cramping, reducing the field to 10 as the three substitutions were already deployed. The field shrunk to nine in the 90th minute when Jay Heaps was ejected for his second yellow card of the match.

The Revolution had a few good attacking sequences put together by Shalrie Joseph, Wells Thompson, and Smith, but the rest of the squad was slow to the ball and disorganized, and the poor marking and lack of possession by Brandon Manzonelli and Pat Phelan particularly questionable.

“We started a Champions League game with no forwards,” said Nicol, “that says it all.” The Revolution is strained from the fixture congestion of the Open Cup, SuperLiga, and CONCACAF tournament competitions resulting from last year’s winning season.

Joe Public’s coach Keith Griffith employed a fast, international roster and studied New England’s tactics in advance. “I put a lot of emphasis on being well-organized at the back,” said Griffith, “and it’s not an easy task because Gregory is from Guyana, we have three Jamaicans, three Haitians, a Columbian, a guy from England, and the Trinidadian connection, but they are like one family at the moment. In practice we knew that New England would try to play the ball into the box from the angles, and we were always well-prepared.”

Throughout the match, Joe Public FC, particularly keeper Alejandro Figueroa, practiced questionable diving skills which featured dramatic recoveries without ever earning cautions.

Attendance was recorded at 3,523 due to ticket sales, but appeared to be less than 1000, illustrating the local interest in this tournament.

Match Facts

New England Revolution (USA) vs. Joe Public FC (TRI)September 2, 2008 – Foxborough, Mass. (Gillette Stadium)

Scoring Summary:
JPF – Gregory Richardson (Wolry Wolfe) 17
JPF – Gregory Richardson (unassisted) 45
JPF – Roen Nelson (Gregory Richardson) 48
JPF – Gregory Richardson (Silas Spann) 81

Lineups:
New England Revolution: Matt Reis (GK), Chris Tierney, Amaechi Igwe, Gabriel Badilla, Jay Heaps, Mauricio Castro, Shalrie Joseph © (Rob Valentino 68), Jeff Larentowicz (Pat Phelan 46), Wells Thompson, Khano Smith, Brandon Manzonelli (Joe Germanese 72)

Substitutes Not Used: Doug Warren (GK), Chris Albright, Brandon Tyler, Sainey Nyassi

STATS: Shots 10; Shots on Goal 4; Saves 3; Corner Kicks 2; Offside 1; Fouls Committed 14

Joe Public FC: Alejandro Figueroa (GK), Jason Springer (Lyndon Andrews 85), Keyeno Thomas, Christopher Harvey, Carlyle Mitchell (Silas Spann 72), Wolry Wolfe, Dale Saunders ©, Arnold Dwarika, Kerry Baptiste, Roen Nelson (Jamal Gay 76), Gregory Richardson

Substitutes Not Used: Andre Foster (GK), Gary Glasgow, Elusma Pierre, Kerry Noray

STATS: Shots 9; Shots on Goal 7; Saves 4; Corner Kicks 3; Offside 5; Fouls Committed 13

Misconduct Summary:
JPF – Dale Saunders (caution) 13
NE – Jay Heaps (caution) 78
NE – Gabriel Badilla (caution) 88
NE – Jay Heaps (second caution/ejection) 90

Referee: Steve DePiero

Attendance: 3,523